Men in kilts...Yay/nay?

[Clair De Lune]

I am a man and I wear a kilt. Not "I'd wear one", I do wear one....not all the time like.

I don't believe you.

 

[nino_savatte]

I don't believe you.

LOL!!! Ask Streathamite, Stig or William of Walworth. In fact, there's supposed to be a pic of me wearing one at a beer fest right here on Urban.

 

[Pip]

Nah they're crap. They're not even properly traditional.

Anyway I thought this thread was about men in knits, to which my answer is YES!

 

[teuchter]

Interesting. So is there a traditional Scottish dress that is pre-Victorian and Scottish rather than particular to a region or will there always be big difference in traditional dress because the distances between Dumfries to say orkneys is rather large with a lot of big hills in the way and therefore would probably not lead to a united sense of identity except by way of maybe all coming from the same origins? (if they did - Viking/Scot/Picts mix... and any other stragglers along the way)

I don't think there is a pre-Victorian (or rather, pre-Culloden) traditional dress that you could say was "Scottish" rather than "Highland". I'm not sure what the lowlanders used to wear.

The Highlands and Lowlands had fairly distinct cultures from the Middle ages up until the 1700s/1800s partly on account I guess of speaking different languages, Gaelic in the Highlands and English in the Lowlands.

Perhaps you would be interested in reading this:

http://mams.rmit.edu.au/arrytfbyuuwy.pdf

 

[boohoo]

I don't think there is a pre-Victorian (or rather, pre-Culloden) traditional dress that you could say was "Scottish" rather than "Highland". I'm not sure what the lowlanders used to wear.

The Highlands and Lowlands had fairly distinct cultures from the Middle ages up until the 1700s/1800s partly on account I guess of speaking different languages, Gaelic in the Highlands and English in the Lowlands.

And pre-middle ages?

Actually I can't imagine a unity of identity across a vast landscape.

 

[teuchter]

And pre-middle ages?

Actually I can't imagine a unity of identity across a vast landscape.

I think there was a bit of a hotchpotch of Celtic and Norse cultures. And before that Picts and what have you. My early Scottish history is a bit shaky though I'm afraid.

 

[pogofish]

Interesting. So is there a traditional Scottish dress that is pre-Victorian and Scottish rather than particular to a region

Some of the constituant/regional/influential cultires also wore kilt-like garments - the Picts for example. Also the Roman troops, which would certainly have covered much of the lowland area.

 

[pogofish]

Gaelic in the Highlands and English in the Lowlands.

Surely you mean Lallans in the lowlands, not English? (although it did eventually encroach)

 

[boohoo]

I think there was a bit of a hotchpotch of Celtic and Norse cultures. And before that Picts and what have you. My early Scottish history is a bit shaky though I'm afraid.

As far as I understand celtic is a modern concept. I thought it was some fellas from Ireland, a bit of Viking and the Picts. Though Vikings and Irish blokes would have been a more recent (AD rather than BC). Don't know much about Picts but I can't imagine they lived a static exsistent and were the only clearly defined tribe up there...

 

[teuchter]

Surely you mean Lallans in the lowlands, not English? (although it did eventually encroach)

I thought Lallans was/is a dialect of English, rather than a language in itself. Like Doric. Or are Doric and Lallans the same thing?

 

[nino_savatte]

I thought Lallans was/is a dialect of English, rather than a language in itself. Like Doric. Or are Doric and Lallans the same thing?

Doric is northeastern iirc.

 

[teuchter]

As far as I understand celtic is a modern concept. I thought it was some fellas from Ireland, a bit of Viking and the Picts. Though Vikings and Irish blokes would have been a more recent (AD rather than BC). Don't know much about Picts but I can't imagine they lived a static exsistent and were the only clearly defined tribe up there...

I think the fellas from Ireland were the Celts. Including that Giant who built the Giant's Causeway.

 

[teuchter]

Doric is northeastern iirc.

Yes, mainly spoken round Aberdeen. I have a half-baked idea that it's the remnant of the strong Scots dialect that was once spoken further south but I may well be quite wrong.

 

[pogofish]

Lallans is more an example of a similar language with similar influences, developing in paralell & whilst Doric does have significant Lallans influences in the south of its range, it owes at least as much to old German & Scandinavian languages as you move progressively north.

 

[teuchter]

Lallans is more an example of a similar language with similar influences, developing in paralell & whilst Doric does have significant Lallans influences in the south of its range, it owes at least as much to old German & Scandinavian languages as you move progressively north.

Strictly speaking they are both dialects of English though, aren't they?

 

[boohoo]

I think the fellas from Ireland were the Celts. Including that Giant who built the Giant's Causeway.

It has recently been considered that the celts are a modern invention and that the celtic people - scottish/irish/gauls/Britons did not have a unified set of beliefs and lifestyle.

Book on subject:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlantic-Celts-Ancient-People-Invention/dp/0714121657

The giant is Finn McCool... who according to my book of fairy tales hid up a tree from venomous sheep.

 

[chico enrico]

there is a tendency in many cases for kilts to be worn by people who are not Scottish but want to pretend that they are. Most people I have known who wear a kilt outside of very formal occasions like weddings or funerals speak with a posh English accent.

true words (he says grudgingly )

in Scotland folk who wear kilts on any other occassion than perhaps getting married are generally regarded as wankers. personally , i think wearing a kilt and the full get-up is pretty naff but some folk do go for it and fair enough. it's generally just done to please the family and so yer folks can display photos of you and the wife having a 'traditional scottish' wedding.

you also get the 'tartan army' football fans wearing them and that's fair enough as well as they're just out for a bevvy and a laugh.

in edinburgh all the pipers you see wearing kilts are invariably american/canadian etc. fair play to them as i'm sure they make healthy dosh off folk getting photos taken with them. But i'm sure they'd also get folks wanting photos if they were playing the bagpipes wearing a gorilla suit.

anyone with dreadlocks wearing a kilt (yes, i know it is a hideous thought but believe me it does exist - i have witnessed this horror with my own scarred eyes) will be a posh southern wanker and will probably get a healthy booting walking back at night to their Marchmont wank-pad off wee neds a few times a year. which is obviously a good thing.

so, basically, unless it's for a wedding, you are a big red-bearded 'tartan army' football fan off for a weekend of drinking some european city dry and pissing in shop doorways or you work as a strippogram or in that gay table-dancing club at the top of leith walk - men in kilts are a very resounding 'nay'.

 

[pogofish]

Strictly speaking they are both dialects of English though, aren't they?

Maybe by the time we reach the modern erae but traditionally they were quite different languages - The geography of the borders was a fair barrier to interaction between the countries & historically, Scotland dealt a lot more with countries on the other side of the north sea than with their English neighbours. The Exchequer Rolls makes a pretty clear case for this.

 

[pogofish]

Yes, mainly spoken round Aberdeen. I have a half-baked idea that it's the remnant of the strong Scots dialect that was once spoken further south but I may well be quite wrong.

Doric covered the entire east coast, north of the Tay - With significant differences in Scottish/Gaelic/continental influences as you went north. Aberdeenshire/Buchan & the old German/Dutch-influenced version is more of its last survival.

 

[stroober]

I have a family kilt and like wearing it and my experience is that the ladies love it

A stroober in a kilt

 

[quimcunx]

I haven't worn one for about ten years.

A picture from then will do fine.

 

[quimcunx]

I have a family kilt and like wearing it and my experience is that the ladies love it

A stroober in a kilt

Very smart.

 

[Clair De Lune]

I have a family kilt and like wearing it and my experience is that the ladies love it

A stroober in a kilt

Nice one! like the colour of your tartan.

 

[stroober]

Murray of Elibank ;-)

 

[pogofish]

Then again, there is this guy:

And yes, he can smell pretty bad after rain.

 

[nino_savatte]

Lallans is more an example of a similar language with similar influences, developing in paralell & whilst Doric does have significant Lallans influences in the south of its range, it owes at least as much to old German & Scandinavian languages as you move progressively north.

Yep and this is even reflected in some of the place names.

 

[geminisnake]

in Scotland folk who wear kilts on any other occassion than perhaps getting married are generally regarded as wankers. personally , i think wearing a kilt and the full get-up is pretty naff but some folk do go for it and fair enough.

anyone with dreadlocks wearing a kilt (yes, i know it is a hideous thought but believe me it does exist - i have witnessed this horror with my own scarred eyes) will be a posh southern wanker

Crap! I know quite a lot of blokes who wear their kilts fairly regularly and they are not regarded as wankers. They don't wear all the shite with them, they wear boots, T shirts, hoodies or whatever so probably share your view about 'the get up' being naff.

There was at least 6 blokes wearing kilts on Saturday night and I'm fairly sure most of the biker things I've been to in the last few yrs there's always been a few kilts worn.

I also know a few guys with dreads who have been known to wear kilts and they're all scottish They may well be a minority though.

Hill walkers also wear kilts apparently(hubby goes hill walking and tells me this)

 

[teuchter]

Hill walkers also wear kilts apparently(hubby goes hill walking and tells me this)

 

[Ich bin ein Mod]

*faps*

Not because of the post, but because of those shoes! What was I thinking?

 

[geminisnake]

What?? Kilt = warm when cold and cool when warm, makes sense to me.